Mayor says that the high number of second and vacation homes may account for the poor response to the Census 2010. If local citizens do not respond, it could affect federal funding for the state and redrawing of district lines.
By Ben Marcus / Special to The Malibu Times
For a week Malibu was targeted as the city within Los Angeles County with the lowest return rate for the United States Census 2010, and among the worst in the nation. However, this week, county officials corrected this, saying the city of Avalon on Catalina Island is the number one city with the worst return rate, at 43 percent, putting Malibu in second place, with a return rate of 57 percent. Either way, if the citizens of Malibu do not respond to door-to-door census takers’ requests to fill out the forms, then the local area might be at the bottom of the list for receiving federal funds for projects.
The United States Census is ordered in the Constitution to be taken every 10 years, and the results are used to apportion congressional seats and electoral votes, and distribute federal funds. The census is a relatively simple form with 10 questions, which was mailed to all households in Malibu, with an April 1 deadline to fill out and return by mail.
Toward the end of April, the U.S. Census Bureau began to report the results of the Census 2010 and it was reported locally, throughout the state and nationally that the City of Malibu had the lowest return rate in Los Angeles County, and one of the lowest nationwide. On Tuesday this week, the correction that Avalon was top worst dog was released.
Meanwhile, countywide, the average return rate has been 70 percent.
The low census return was one of the first issues newly appointed Mayor Jefferson Wagner had to deal with in his first week in office.
“I received a call from [county Supervisor] Zev Yaroslavsky’s office to remind me of the responsibility of refreshing people’s memory to complete their census forms,” Wagner said. “I had been saying all along, ‘When in doubt, fill it out,’ but I called City Manager Jim Thorsen and asked if we could put a notice on the city’s web page … The following morning I looked on the web page and there it was, top billing.”
Wagner credits the high number of vacation homes in Malibu as one reason for the city’s poor showing. The mayor also said he suspects that some of Malibu’s wealthier residents probably didn’t see the form because they don’t open their own mail, while others simply tuned out the Census Bureau’s pitch that participation is crucial in determining how $400 billion in federal dollars is spent in communities across America.
According to the Web site for California Complete Count, an informative effort by the office of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the population of California in 2000 was 33.9 million people and the estimate for 2010 is a population of 38 million. “More than $435 billion a year is distributed by the federal government to states based on census-driven funding formulas,” the Web site states. “California’s share in the 2007 fiscal year was approximately $41 billion. California could lose billions of dollars in federal funding and approximately $3,000 a year for each Californian not counted in the 2010 Census.”
The lackluster return in a coastal city of 15,000 is unlikely to affect California statewide and lose a congressional seat for the state, but the effect could be felt locally, as the census count could reshape Assemblywoman Julia Brownley’s 41st District, and also affect federal funds for the area.
“The census likely will affect the next elected official who represents Assembly District 41, because political boundaries are being redrawn and take into account the population,” Linda Rapattoni, Brownley’s press secretary, said. “Assemblywoman Brownley will have reached the maximum length of her term by the time that happens, so she is not affected on a political basis in that sense.”
The second phase of the Census 2010 is the “Non Response Follow Up.” Beginning May 1, census workers will go door-to-door throughout Malibu, knocking on gates and talking to security people and doing their best to gain access to houses that might be vacation homes, or third homes-or inhabited by people who don’t want their privacy intruded on in any way, even by the 10 simple questions of the census.
Wagner stressed the potential impact of a low census turnout to Malibu, saying, “If you have 1,000 people on the left hand and two on the right hand, who will you send the money to? If Malibu does not produce a better return, federal funding for local projects could be diminished, where other areas with full response will see more funding.”